"The Courage to Think Anew"

Political history doesn't turn on the amount of money you spend, but the courage to think anew. (The Argument, Matt Bai)

A year ago tonight-about right now-Daryl and I were at the Ritz Carlton in Montego Bay-an idyllic, perfectly calm setting for some badly needed rest. Little did we know, that was all about to change. About the time we were having dinner, my brother-in-law, Larry walked into his living room to find my sister, Ava, who had been just fine moments before, slumped over, unresponsive. I didn't find out until the next morning, but a large aneurysm had ruptured in Ava's brain. She was in ICU, on a respirator, clinging to life, against the odds.

In the days that followed, I traded a hammock by the beach in Jamaica for a chair in the ICU waiting room in Charlotte where I learned about things like "grade five bleeds" and "vasospasms." After three weeks in ICU, two surgeries (one that caught the aneurysm just before it "blew" again), weeks on the neuro floor, a month in the rehab hospital and months more of recovery at home, she didn't just survive an event that most do not-she survived with little residual impairment. She still plays the organ at her church and still serves on the planning and zoning board in her community. Amazing really. People, including her doctor, readily use the word "miracle" when they talk about her. She believes that it just wasn't her time to die. God's hand was with us, but there were other more earthly things at work as well.

For, example, Ava was close to a major medical center (Charlotte) with a specialized neuro ICU. She had excellent doctors. And, because Larry is one of those now-rare individuals who has worked for the same large company most of his adult life, she had excellent health insurance, and he had the leave he needed to be with her-especially after she came home.

Anyone can be just fine one moment and in need of state of the art medical care the next. When I talk about access to health care being a fundamental, civil right, it's because I believe everyone deserves the same shot at life that she had. To make that happen, in this new economy will certainly require that we have the courage to "think anew."

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Hometown Guy Does Good

Based on the recommendation of a friend, I picked up a copy of "The Argument: Billionaires, Bloggers and the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics" by Matt Bai, and have been reading it this afternoon. I noticed in the acknowledgements that Matt has some awfully nice things to day about one of Macon's own, Jay Carson. Bai, calls Jay, who has worked for both Tom Daschle and Bill Clinton, "one of the great young talents in the Democratic Party." Some of you from Macon will remember Jay and his parents who now live in North Carolina. Jay's dad, Jim, was an attorney here for years and active in Democratic politics.

On a separate note, the book is a very interesting look at the evolution of the modern progressive movement and it's impact on the Democratic Party. Just published in 2007, it's filled with campaign trail stories and covers the 2006 Democratic takeover of Congress, so it is an interesting read that makes a compelling point. Here's a quote to get you started:

I was surprised to discover, as I tried to understand the progressive revolt, that most of it's leaders were trying to understand it, too. What they were still searching for in those early days of the movement was an argument, some compelling case for the future of American government. They aspired to win, but to what end?....

A kind of lingering unease shadows the land, and the movement that dominates the next generation of American politics will be the one not that exploits this emotion, nor that tries to soothe it away but that articulates some new and persuasive argument for how we meet the future.

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